Corporate Prayer as a Means of Grace (2)

Introduction: The Staggering Promise of Corporate Prayer

0:02 The following message was delivered on Sunday morning, March 20th, 1994, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Let us turn together again this morning to the 18th chapter of Matthew's Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 18.

0:27 And though our attention will be focused upon verse 20, it comes at the end of a paragraph, and so we shall read the entire paragraph, beginning with verse 15.

0:42 Our Lord Jesus Christ, speaking to his disciples, said, And if your brother sin against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he hear you, you have gained your brother. But if he hear you, you have gained your brother. If he hear you not, take with you one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three, every word may be established.

1:14 And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church. And if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto you as the Gentile and the publican. Verily I say unto you, What things soever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what things soever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. For, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

2:17 It is said of our spiritual father Abraham, that he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. The clear implication of such a statement is that some of the promises of God, are so vast and weighty, that they tend to make the people of God, to whom the promises are made, to stagger beneath the sheer volume of their spiritual weight. As a man would stagger under the physical weight of a refrigerator strapped to his back, so some of the promises of God are so, so weighty in their spiritual substance, that we are tempted to stagger beneath them. Such is the unique promise of our Lord in connection with corporate prayer that we began to examine two Lord's days ago. That promise is couched in the language of Matthew 18, 19, where we find our Lord saying, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask,

3:44 it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. We began to consider these words in connection with our ongoing study of a balanced doctrine of the Christian life, one which asserts that there are no effective substitutes, that there are no effective substitutes, that there are no effective substitutes, for the God-appointed means of grace in living the Christian life. In our examination of the four major corporate or public means of grace set before us in Acts 2 and verse 42, we have arrived at the fourth of those public means of grace described in Acts 2.42 as the church continuing steadfastly in the prayers. In our previous study, after establishing from that text that it is a reference to the stated seasons of corporate or social prayer by the Jerusalem church, I then stated that few things were more calculated to stir us up to the duty and privilege of corporate prayer than an intelligent, spirit-taught, and believing grasp

Review: Truthfulness, Authority, Power, and Substance of the Promise

5:10 upon this unique promise given by our Lord in conjunction with the corporate prayer of His people. In that initial study, we noted first of all the truthfulness, authority, and power behind the promise. A promise is no better than the one who gives it. And when we see a promise such as this promise, if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven, we need to ask, is the one who makes such a promise truthful? Does he have the authority to make such a promise? And does he have the power to make it good? And as we look at the one who speaks, the one who is the very Amen of God, the one who says, I am the truth, he tells us, verily I say unto you, and again I say unto you, there stands behind this promise all of the divine truthfulness, divine authority, and divine power, of the God-man,

6:36 our Lord Jesus Christ. Then we noted secondly, having considered the truthfulness, authority, and power that stands behind the promise, the substance of the promise, precisely what is promised in this text. And we looked at three of the obvious categories of thought that form the substance of the promise. There is an activity envisioned, and that activity has to do in the context with the gathered church, and as the people of God are gathered, they are engaged, in verse 19, in an activity of asking. If two of you shall agree as touching anything, they shall ask. And it is one of the major standard words for prayer found in the New Testament. So the activity envisioned is corporate prayer, even if the church should be reduced to two.

7:50 It is in the gathering of the people of God that we find our Lord addressing this promise. Then we noted secondly, under the substance of the promise, not only an activity envisioned, but a condition described. And that condition is bound up in the verb, if two of you shall agree on earth. And it points to this symphony of spiritual desire, that which is described in the passage read this morning from the book of Acts, of the people of God asking with one accord, their hearts united in their conviction that what they are asking is according to the will of God. They are united in their disposition that though they may be mistaken with respect to the specifics of what they ask, the disposition of their hearts is that of our Lord Jesus. Nevertheless, not what we will, but what you will. And then we noted thirdly, from the activity envisioned, the condition described, the response pledged.

9:12 And the response pledged is this, it shall become, literally, it shall become for them of my Father who is in heaven. The same Father who ratifies in heaven the action of his church on earth when she biblically disciplines one of her members is the Father who acts from heaven, making it become on earth as they have asked in their corporate prayers. And while the context draws us to the subject of discipline and an asking on the part of the people of God that probably focuses upon wisdom in implementing the process of discipline, the blessing of God to bring about the restoration of the disciplined member, the general wording takes us far beyond the subject of the immediate context for our Lord says, if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done of my Father who is in heaven. Now having considered the truthfulness, authority and power

The Reason for the Promise: Connection Clearly Indicated

10:39 that lies behind the text, even that of the Lord himself, the substance of the promise, we come now this morning to consider in the third place the reason for so precious a promise in connection with corporate prayer. The reason for so precious a promise in connection with corporate prayer. Verse 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

11:22 And we'll open up this third heading of the sermon under three subheadings. First of all, the connection clearly indicated. The connection clearly indicated. Now it is true that verse 20 throughout the centuries has been quoted by the people of God in public gatherings, has been quoted by preachers to encourage the people of God that when they gather to worship that the Lord himself is in the midst.

11:58 And while much expectation, consolation and even exhilaration of expectancy has come to the people of God in ways totally unrelated to corporate prayer, nonetheless, verse 20 does come to us with a word that indicates that there is a logical connection between what precedes and what now unfolds. Verse 20 begins with the word for. And this word for is generally used as an umbilical cord of rationale or reason explaining the connection between one thing and another. It is found literally hundreds of times in the Greek New Testament. Just one example that makes it significant, very obvious, when the angel spoke to Joseph in his troubled state of mind, wondering what he should do upon the discovery that Mary, to whom he was espoused, was pregnant. We read in Matthew 1.20,

13:18 but when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, do not fear to take unto you Mary your wife. There is a directive for. Now here is that umbilical cord of logical thought for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Joseph do this for or because she is not pregnant because she has been unfaithful to you.

13:54 She has not had sexual intercourse with another man. Joseph do this for. There is a logical umbilical cord between the directive and the explanation that is given. Similarly here in our text, though verse 20 stands on its own two feet announcing a very glorious general principle that Jesus Christ is in the midst of all of the duly appointed gatherings of his people.

14:31 It is a text that comes to us with a very specific and limited context. And that context is the Father ratifying in heaven the activity of the church when she gathers for discipline and the prayers of the church when she agrees on earth as touching what she asks. It is with specific reference to those two things that our Lord shows the connection. Why is it that what the church does on earth in obedience to Christ and in the name of Christ is actually ratified in heaven? It is because where two or three are gathered in his name he himself is there. And likewise when we ask the question why is it that when two shall agree on earth is touching anything that they shall ask that it shall be done by the Father who is in heaven the answer is for it is Christ himself who places his imprimatur

15:57 upon the prayers of his gathered people. And so the connection is clearly indicated by the word with which the text begins. Now having seen the connection clearly indicated consider secondly the reason given. What is the reason for such a promise being given?

The Reason Given: Special Presence of Christ Among His Gathered People

16:24 For where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them. What is the basic and obvious reason given for so precious a promise? Simply stated it is this there is a special presence of Christ himself among his gathered people when they gather to pray. That's it.

16:57 In a nutshell that's the obvious answer of the text. There is a special presence of Christ himself among his gathered people when they gather to pray. Is not this summary statement the unavoidable and compelling conclusion to be drawn from the words of the Savior? But oh to draw the conclusion is one thing to have faith that staggers not at the reality the words convey is quite another.

Particular Description of His People: Gathered in My Name

17:37 And as I attempt to open up this reason given I want you to focus with me upon two things in particular. Number one the particular description of his people in this text. The particular description of his people and then secondly the promise of his presence as he gives the reason why corporate prayer is so effectual he first of all gives a particular description of his people and that description is this for where two or three are gathered together in my name. Now the promise of verse 19 has reference to two agreeing on earth as touching what they ask and I sought to open up what that agreement means in the previous study. But here in verse 20 they are further described literally as those having been gathered in his name. For you Greek students you have a perfect passive participle of the verb which means to gather together.

19:00 And the passive means that they are acted upon they are gathered by another. And we are told in the text for where two or three have been gathered together or stand gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them. And what is the particular description of his people in this text? It is that they have been gathered together in Christ's name.

19:41 Now what in the world does that mean? Well if you boil down everything that you can discover by comparing scripture with scripture and taking up the whole concept of gathering in the name and the significance of the name you will come to a conclusion that at least will find you within this ballpark of thought. His people are described as those whose supreme point of reference as they are found gathered is Jesus Christ himself. The supreme point of reference as they are found gathered even if only two or three is Christ himself. Look at the text again. For where two or three stand as gathered together in my name. There being found gathered has primary reference to the person of Christ himself.

21:02 And the promise is nullified if this is not the basis of their being found gathered together. In other words their being found gathered together is not mere religious habit. They've staggered out of bed on a Sunday morning staggered to the closet reached out for a matching shirt or tie or dress and appointments and thrown things together thrown down some breakfast half awake half asleep with a mind full of the world and the events of the week they stagger into a place of gathering and half-heartedly open a hymn book half-heartedly let their minds wander and occasionally come into contact with the person leading in prayer. No, no, no my friend that's not to gather in his name. That's not to gather with the primary reference point being the person of Jesus Christ. It is not to wolf down a meal on a Wednesday night and half resentful that the thing was ever designated a stating meeting or God knows no sane person would rush out in the middle of the week

22:31 reluctantly and with a spirit of semi-resentment you get into the car and you make your way and come into the prayer meeting and sit there and are half irritated when you've got to listen to concerns that encompass the world and you dutifully bow your head and mumble an amen. Is that to gather in his name? Is that to validate the promise two of you agreeing on earth? No, no, a thousand times no.

23:06 To gather in his name whether for worship in general or in our context for corporate prayer in particular is to gather with our conscious supreme reference point being Jesus Christ himself. It is not to gather being drawn by the pull of mere religious habit by the mere call of your spiritual overseers and certainly not by the attraction of other mortals who are on their way to dust as you are but it is to gather with a conscious preoccupation of mind and heart with the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in the word of God. That is the sense of the name is clear from a passage such as John 17 and verse 6 and I will not weary you with a lot of references but notice in our Lord's high priestly prayer he says, John 17, 6 I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world. What does it mean I manifested thy name? I unfolded

24:32 I revealed your character as my Father and as the Father of all who believe upon me. To manifest the name is to exegete to unfold to reveal the character of another. The name stands for the very person and being of God. They that know thy name will put their trust in thee.

25:01 They that know who God is. The name of God is God's vehicle of self-revelation and so when our text says for the reason behind this staggering promise connected with corporate prayer has to do with the people of God described as having been gathered in connection with the name of Christ. That means they gather as those who joyfully acknowledge they trust only in his mediation as their once for all sacrifice upon the cross and as their present intercessor and advocate at the right hand of the Father. They gather in his name that is in the conscious believing embrace of the revelation of himself as the only and final priest through whom sinners can make approach unto a holy God and find acceptance. That's what it means to stand gathered in his name. It means to stand gathered drawn together in a commonality

26:27 of self-confessed unworthiness and joyful confession that Christ alone is the one through whom we draw nigh unto God in prayer. By him therefore let us draw near unto God. Having a new and living way let us draw near. So it means that we stand gathered as those who trust only in his mediation as our great and final priest.

27:03 Furthermore we stand gathered as those who gladly and soberly submit to his word as our final and glorious prophet. For he said if you abide in me and my words abide in you ye shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Our Lord envisions his people gathered not to pour out their corporate carnal ambitions in the ears of almighty God but as those who have been gathered not only in his name but in a fellowship of commonality of trust in Christ alone as their priest but in this common glad sober submission to the word of Christ as their prophet they gather and can agree on what they ask because as we saw last week they are all orchestrating from one score the word of God under the tutelage of one conductor the Holy Spirit. This is what it is to be found gathered in his name trusting only in his mediation as our priest

28:31 gladly and soberly submitting to his word as our prophet and joyfully embracing his universal government his government over the world over our church and over our hearts as our great and final king how can anyone pray thy kingdom come when that kingdom comes through the reign of Jesus stretching out the scepter of his gracious authority and bringing rebel sinners to become obedient subjects how in the world can we ever agree praying thy kingdom come if in our hearts we hate his scepter ridiculous so when he says so when he says where two or three stand as gathered together in my name he is describing his people as a regenerate people as a people called by his grace indwelt by his spirit disciplined and directed by his word gathering in his name is not a verbal sin it is a multi-faceted spiritual dynamic of immense proportions

29:58 and our Lord gives that particular description of his people and he says this is the reason that stands behind the promise the promise that your disciplinary action will be ratified in heaven the promise that your corporate prayers will be answered from heaven for where two or three stand as gathered together where two or three stand in the condition of having been gathered together in my name they have been gathered passive participle by the power of his grace they have been gathered by the truth that surrounds his person and work and they are found in any given experience of corporate prayer gather not by habit not to please their elders not simply to see one another but they have been gathered because the love of Christ constrains them because the word of Christ governs them because the thought of drawing near to God through Christ excites them that's the particular description of his people is that a description of you? is that a description of you?

31:26 are you one who trust only in the mediation of Christ as the final and gloriously perfect high priest whose once for all sacrifice alone can cleanse from sin and whose continuous mediation and high priestly work secures our access to God are you one of them? if not, you're not gathered in his name here this morning nor will you be when we gather Wednesday to be found standing as gathered in his name is to be gathered as those who've embraced the revelation made in the person and work of Christ he is the one priest is he your priest? it means gladly and soberly submitting to his word as our final prophet is that a description of you? does what Christ says in his word end all discussion about anything and everything which this book addresses? who you are as a man who you are as a woman what God's will is for you as a husband as a wife what God's will is with regard to what you put in your mouth and what you don't where your feet go what your hands touch what your eyes look upon do you embrace as the psalmist did saying I esteem all

32:52 thy precepts concerning all things to be right and I hate every false way if the revelation of God in Christ has effectually laid hold of you that's true of you because in the summons of Christ come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me and if you've responded to the overtures of this grace your disposition is one of readiness to learn of Christ how is a teenager to think about life and music and dress and dating you teenagers some of you recently professing faith in Christ is it the Christ who is the prophet ready to tell you what your ears should and should not listen to in the way of music what you should and should not wear for casual clothing for beach clothing for pool non clothing you're ready for Christ's word to direct what you put on or take off or don't put on who you should or shouldn't date whether you should or shouldn't hold hands kiss touch fumble listen kids

34:21 if Christ's word isn't regulating those areas of your life you're as lost as the devil so what if it hasn't brought you into the orbit of his name where the revelation of Christ's word as regulative of all of life is that which you gladly embrace you're not a Christian a Christian trusts only in Christ as his priest gladly submits to his word as prophet and joyfully embraces his government as king that's the description of his people they stand gathered and gather in conjunction with his name that's the particular description of his people now look at the promise of his presence look at it where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them and I want you to see two things about this promise of his presence it focuses on a specific place and it pledges his own personal presence

Promise of His Presence: Specific Place and Personal Presence

35:46 it focuses upon a specific place this shocked me at first when I studied the text in the original when we read in our English Bible for where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I that's the way we would tend to read it as though the there is just sort of filler there am I but in the original it wouldn't read that way it wouldn't read there am I or there am I in the midst of them but rather this is the way it reads for where two or three are gathered together in my name there in that I am in the midst of them it is an adverb of place and the promise focuses upon a specific place the word place all the places that are in the midst of them is a place that people are not used to this is the way in which we establish a place this is a place that has a versatility that has this and this two're two there are three two three two two three three and three there are

37:13 four three three two text. The promise of his presence focuses upon a specific place. And what is the place? Look at the text. For where? Ah, where? In the place where two or three stand as gathered together in my name, that place, I'm in the midst of them. It may be a jail for Paul and Silas or in stocks. But if in that place they are in stocks, a mini church, because of their attachment, they could plead this promise. Because in that place, Christ would be uniquely present. It may be in a cave. It may be in the catacombs. It may be as in the days of

38:17 the Covenanters, out in the moors of Scotland, where they would meet in secret. Seeking to avoid the dragoons who would come and haul them off to prison and some to death. It may be in a plain building such as this, erected for worship. It may be in an ornate cathedral. It may be in the basement of a home. But in whatever place, there is a gathering of those who stand gathered together in my name. It may be in a cave. It may be as in the days of the Covenanters, out in the moors of Scotland. It may be as in the days of the Covenanters, gathered by the power of his name. Christ has worked in them a saving embrace of him as prophet,

39:06 priest, and king. Christ's word at work in them has called them not only to himself in saving mercy, but to one another in the appointed acts of discipline or prayer in the context or in the wider application of the gospel. It may be in a cave. It may be as in the days of the Covenanters, erected for worship and for ministry. In whatever place, a people stand gathered, not because they've been duped into thinking Christianity is market friendly. Jesus is inoffensive. He wouldn't hurt a fly. He won't disrupt your materialistic, hedonistic, self-centered lifestyle. He'll just be an added

39:53 plus. He'll be some magic and some magic. He'll be a miracle. He'll be a miracle. He'll be a miracle. He'll be a miracle. He'll be a miracle. He'll be a miracle. He'll be a miracle. He'll be a megavitamins in your presence already filled up carnal, selfish, flesh-loving, world-serving life, my friend, he ain't there. I'll clue you he ain't there. That's not to be gathered in his name and with the bongo drums and with all of the entertainment so that people can have, quote, their religion much like the world without the four-letter words. That's the only difference. Gathered to hear their Christian rock artists, gathered to hear their favorite personalities. Oh, no, my friend, if that's why they're gathered, he ain't there either. The promise of his presence focuses upon a specific place, and that place has nothing to do with the size or the materials of which it is made. It has to do with the people that are found within it.

40:58 That stand gathered in his name. And then notice the second thing about the promise of his presence. It focuses upon a specific place, but then it pledges, and this is the part where faith staggers. It pledges his own personal presence. Look at the text. Where two or three are gathered together in my name. Notice it doesn't say, there I shall come into the midst of them, but he says, there I am in the midst of them. Not I shall come to them, but I'm already ahead of them, and I gather them to myself. And where you find the people who stand gathered in my name, you can count on it. I was there ahead of

41:59 time by the continuous supplies of my grace working in them so to gather. And I will pour out the work of the only wrapped Omniscience, and as Antara� transmits daily sermons, faith Emanălis, once had, I shall bring it to you an Acadênes always to percolate, or is that right? The knowledge and Christ s power was absolutely in him so that he could take it with him into him. The knowledge has no time for mereостim browse, and and his total oblivion to all things, so let us observe here.

42:35 1.A happy place was formed for the services of God, in a time an coma and suffering, or two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I. Not, I will be, though that is true, but he puts it in a more divine fashion, there am I. Jesus is there already before another arrives. He's the first in the congregation, the first comer in the assembly, and they come gathering to him. He is at the center, and they come. You see how it all ties together? See what it means to gather in his name? I said it means simply to gather out of conscious

43:21 supreme attachment to Christ. And because this happens to be the place where we gather on the Lord's day, and the auditorium in phase one on Wednesday, think of it. This word is trustworthy and true, and we've seen that behind it stands the authority and the truthfulness and the power of Christ. What a revolutionary thought that if I am coming out of conscious attachment to the Lord Jesus as my prophet, my priest, my king, my Lord, my life, my way, my end, it is he who's always going to be there for me.

44:05 He's already here calling me into this special fellowship with himself. It is he who's already there Wednesday night, never late, like the preacher is sometimes, always there, gathering his people to himself, that they might agree on earth is touching what they ask, and that his specially pledged presence will so superintend and govern and direct their prayers that this special fellowship will be for them. I promise we'll find a fulfillment in their experience on any given Wednesday. Isn't this enough to push you out of bed Saturday morning once a month, where two or three are gathered in my name? There am I in the midst of them. He pledges his own personal presence, but now I must give a word of caution, because part of the task of an elder is given in Titus 1.9.

Caution: The Nature of Christ's Presence (Refuting Lutheran Theology)

45:07 He must refute the game. When he says, there am I in the midst of them, he does not mean that he is there in the presence of the whole Christ in the indissoluble union of his two distinct natures, his human and divine nature. He is not saying the whole Christ in the indissoluble union of the two distinct natures is there. No, that Christ went back to the right hand of God the Lord the Father, where he will remain until the voice of the archangel and the trump of God in the clouds, and he comes again in glory. This same Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, that was the God-man. In the two distinct natures joined in the one person, never to be separated for all eternity, the angel said, this same Jesus shall so come in like manner as you have seen him. Go into heaven, behold, every eye shall see him. You say, why make the point? Who in the world would

46:15 believe anything other? Well, Lutheran theology teaches that, and they need to teach it in order to justify their weird doctrine of the Lord's Supper. Listen to Lenski, the man I often quote with favor in this place. Listen to his comment on this very verse. This is the presence of the whole Christ in his two inseparably united natures, by both of which he is the Lord. By both of which he is the Christ, his human and divine nature. And the distinctive feature of this presence is his grace, which is effective to guide, direct, keep, and bless those to whom it is promised. Although it is invisible, it is no less real than it was when he stood visibly in the midst of his disciples after his resurrection. Well, I didn't know his physical body was

47:03 invisible after the resurrection, did you? No, it was visible. He said, hey, touch my hands. Touch your finger. A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me have. You see, this is Lutheran theology to justify the heretical doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Supper. When Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them, he would subsequently make it very plain in the upper room discourse, I'm going to leave you. That's why their hearts were sad. But he said, look, though I leave you, I'm going to leave you. I'm going to leave you. I'm going to leave you. I'm going to leave you.

47:43 As to my physical presence, I'm going to send the Comforter. But when the Comforter comes, what will He do? He will bring my presence and the presence of the Father. John chapter 14, verses 16 and 23 make this very, very clear.

48:02 John 14 and verse 16. Listen to the words of Christ. I will pray the Father and He will give you another Comforter that He may be with you forever. Verse 23, Jesus said, If a man love me, he'll keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our abode with him.

48:26 How is the presence of Christ mediated to us in this present age? By the person and presence of the Holy Spirit with whom He is one in the mystery of the eternal three in one and one in three. But you see, the Holy Spirit does not bring to us something distinct from and separate from the presence of Christ. He comes to make real and to validate to our hearts the very presence of the Lord Jesus in the gathering of His people.

49:07 And this little phrase, there am I, in the midst, is probably by the Spirit of God designed to tuck away in the minds of the disciples what would later be recorded by John. And I want you to turn there now for just a few moments to John chapter 20. The Lord Jesus has died and risen from the dead. And the disciples are confused.

49:34 They are fearful. And we find them in John 20 and verse 19. In this confusion, confused and fearful state. What are they doing?

49:45 John chapter 20 and verse 19. When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood, here's the phrase, in the midst.

50:07 Jesus came and stood in the midst. They were gathered. He was not there. Suddenly, He appears.

50:18 And He is in the midst. Look at verse 26. And after eight days again the disciples were within, and Thomas with them, Jesus cometh, the doors being shut and stood, here we are again, the phrase, in the midst.

50:40 Now do you see the difference? They were gathered. They were gathered as His followers in a state of confusion, in a state of fear. And thus gathered, Jesus came into their gathering.

50:56 He was in the midst and He speaks the shalom, the peace, the well-being of God upon His people. Peace be unto you. Now He says, an hour is coming when I'll go back to the right hand of my Father in the integrity of my life. My person is the God-man, two distinct but inseparable natures in the one person.

51:21 And I'll send another helper, one called alongside to help the comforter. And because He has come and indwells the heart of every one who is attached to me in faith and love and submission, and because He comes to take up His habitation in every living temple made of living stones, the church, when you gather, you need not wait for me to come. As you stand gathered, I am already there. Where two or three stand as gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Application 1: Affirmation of Christ's Deity and Work

52:06 And you see our Lord gives this as the reason for the tremendous efficacy of corporate prayer as well as the reason why God validates in heaven the disciplinary action of the church on earth when it is done according to His word and His revealed will. Well, I've attempted to open up the text. Now then, by way of application, having seen that there is this connection between the promise of two of us agreeing on earth and it being done and the special presence of Christ with those gathered in His name, having looked at the promise as it points to a place and to His special presence, I want in closing to make some crucial observations and applications of the text. The first is this. Do you see what this text affirms about the person of Christ? It is a powerful affirmation of His true and essential deity.

53:18 Who but God can be present in the tens of thousands of the assemblies of His people at one time across the face of the whole earth? Who can thus be present but God Himself? And there are those who say, Jesus never claimed to be God. What greater claim to deity can He make than is made in this promise?

53:49 Where? Two or three times. Or three are gathered in my name. There in that place right now in tens of thousands of such places where people are gathered, not for fun and games, not drawn by a desire just to feel good and have a little religion and to be entertained.

54:12 No. It is attachment to Christ that has brought them together. He is here. He is there.

54:20 He is yonder. He is there all across the face of the earth. Our divine Savior by the Spirit is present in the midst of His gathered people. That's why we have hopes that God can build a church in Newark.

54:38 That God who has established a people here, He can be there in Edmonton. He can call out men and make them living stones and incorporate them into a living temple, take up His dwelling place. That is dwelling in their midst because He is God. See what it affirms about the person of Christ.

54:59 Secondly, do you see what this text indicates about the work of Christ? You see what it indicates about the work of Christ? It's a beautiful description of the continuous activity of Christ in revealing Himself, in saving power to men so that men will continue to gather in connection with His name. But you see, the mere proclamation of Christ as prophet, priest, and king would do nothing.

55:28 Men hate His kingship. Men love their ignorance. Men despise His priestly work. But He, by His Spirit, having set His love upon a people from all eternity, one by one gathers them to Himself as His name is proclaimed in the gospel.

55:50 Name of mercy. Name of power. Name of grace. Name of mighty Savior.

55:57 What does He do? He puts forth the secret but efficacious work of His Spirit. And as He says, Other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. I must bring.

56:13 I shall bring them, for all that the Father giveth Me shall come. They shall hear My voice. There shall be one fold, one shepherd. Oh, what this text indicates about the work of Christ down to the end of the age.

Application 2: Unique Effectiveness of Corporate Prayer

56:32 No matter what wickedness may abound, He will have a people across the face of the earth who will be marked by this distinguishing trait. They stand gathered by the power and the sweetness, the attractiveness, the beauty, the splendor of His name, the revelation of Himself in the gospel. Thirdly, do you see why corporate prayer is so uniquely effective? Do you see why it is so uniquely effective?

57:08 It's an amazing thing when one man can have his own native lust so subdued, his own natural desires so disciplined, his own native blindness to the purposes of God so overcome, that one man will ask according to the will of God, 1 John 5, 14 and 15. And we know that if we ask anything according to His will, we know that He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, we know we have the petition we desire of Him. But ah, when God can bring two people to agree, subdue the lust of two hearts, subdue the native desires of two hearts, subdue the native blindness and insensitivity of two hearts, how much more likely is it that in that symphony of agreement they have discerned the mind of God as revealed in the word of God, and in their joint faith they lay hold of God, and their corporate prayers have a unique efficacy? Listen again to Spurgeon who captured this. The prayer meeting is not a farce, no waste of time, no mere pious amusement. Some in these times think so, but such shall be lightly esteemed.

58:26 Surely they know not the omnipotence that lies in the pleas of God's people. The Lord has taken the keys of His royal treasury and put them into the hand of faith. He's taken His sword from the scabbard and given it to the hand of a man mighty in prayer. And then he goes on to say, if one Jacob can prevail over a wrestling angel, what can two do?

58:50 What a victory would come to two who join in the same wrestling. One of you shall chase a thousand, God says. Two put ten thousand to flight. There's an accumulated power in united supplication.

59:07 Two do not only double the force, but multiply it tenfold. One shall put a thousand to flight, two ten thousand. You see the tenfold multiplication. How soon the gate of mercy opens.

59:21 When two are knocking, God grant to each one of us a praying partner. When John pulls the oar of prayer, let James join him in the hearty tug. Better still, may we always believe in our Father's presence at our prayer meetings, so that we may find the words of Jesus true when He says, It shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. Oh, do you see?

Application 3: Violent Opposition to Corporate Prayer

59:49 Thy corporate prayer is so unique. Fourthly, do you see why corporate prayer is so violently opposed? Do you see why it's so violently opposed? Do you see why corporate prayer in the number of God's people who gather and in the spirit of prayer that they have is perhaps the most accurate barometer of the state of any church?

60:19 Because it is there that people are not coming to hear the preacher who may have been a preacher. We come to them like a well-played instrument. They are gathered in His name. It is their supreme attachment to Christ Himself.

60:35 And the promise that He is already there waiting to meet them when they gather to pray. But you see, for people who have lost a passion for the person of Christ, who are no longer excited about communion with Christ, then gathering for the special presence of Christ, loses all its luster. If you were at war with an enemy out to destroy you, and you knew he had four kinds of weapons to try to destroy you, handguns, rifles, small artillery, and guided missiles,

61:13 and you had a cadre of commandos who could go after the cache of small arms, rifles, small artillery, or guided missiles, where would you send your commandos? You'd send them to get the guided missiles that could destroy all your munitions factories, all of your food supplies. My friends, that's where the devil sends his commandos.

61:43 That's the guided missiles. All our other weapons are handguns, rifles, and small artillery.

61:54 And Wednesday night, when there steals over your spirit this dullness, and a hundred reasons why you shouldn't be at prayer meeting, remember the illustration. It's an imp of hell who wants to keep a commando from his God-given duty.

Application 4: Maintaining Devotion to Christ

62:14 The devil doesn't want his kingdom destroyed by the agreement on earth of the people of God. And finally, my last word of application is this. Do you see why maintaining a vital, warm, passionate attachment and devotion to the people of God is so important? Do you see why maintaining a vital, warm, passionate attachment to the person of Christ is the most crucial issue of the Christian life?

62:42 Do you see why the maintenance of a vital, warm, passionate attachment and devotion to the person of Christ is the most crucial issue of the Christian life? When his promised presence no longer excites and exhilarates and thrills, who will be found having gathered in his name? Do you see the point? The promise is bound up for where two or three stand as gathered in my name.

63:21 It is the magnetism of my person and my grace and my work, my love, my sacrifice, my intercession, my word, my gracious rule. To gather in my name is to gather in attachment to me. Dear people of God, do you see what you're doing? Do you see what you're doing by neglect of your Bible?

63:47 Neglect of the secret place? Letting your conscience be bloodied with the angry word to your wife that you won't confess to God and to her? The harsh word to your kids you won't confess to God and to your kids? The TV ad that you watch when you know you should have flicked it off?

64:06 Do you see what you're doing? Do you see what you're doing? By degrees, you're eroding. By degrees, you're eroding.

64:13 There's a deep, sensitive, passionate attachment to the person of Christ. And when that goes, there'll be no excitement at this promise for where two or three are gathered in my name. In that place, I'm already there. I'm in the mix!

64:36 And you say, big deal.

64:40 Tell me there's going to be the finals of the NCAA basketball tournament shown on 16th. 16-square-foot screen. I'll be there. That excites some of you.

64:50 Just say NCAA finals, and some of you are full of excitement. If we were to say to some of you, there's going to be a free showing, a fiddle around the roof, with Topol himself playing tevye. We're going to have it here in this auditorium. You'd get excited!

65:07 You'd count the days! Why? Because those are things that appeal to you, innocent in themselves. But for Jesus Christ, the incarnate, God who left the glories of heaven to come to this sin-cursed, defiled world, and in this world to be spat upon and mocked and cheered and have our sins heaped upon him until he tasted our hell, his words, there am I.

65:38 They cause no flutter of excitement in your breast. They cause no raising of your spiritual blood pressure, no heightening of your spiritual pulse, no pulse. Why? I have this against thee, thou hast left thy first love.

66:00 Now, you can rationalize and say, oh, there goes Pastor Martin again, trying to be the big old killjoy. My friend, I'm not trying to be a killjoy. Whatever fountain you're drinking at that is a substitute for Christ is rancid, poisonous, and foul. And God says, my people have committed to you, they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and they've hewn them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

66:40 What are you drinking down with delight? It's poison to your soul.

66:49 Mark it well.

66:52 No amount of exhorting to come to prayer meeting will answer to your sporadic attendance at prayer meeting as long as your devotion to Christ is where it now is. But let your heart again be inflamed with love to Christ and a passion for Christ and the word of Christ. There am I! That's all you'll need to get yourself to the place where He is.

67:22 And for some of you who think I've gone right out of my tree to even talk about raised blood pressure and quickened pulse in connection with Jesus, listen to me, my friend.

67:34 You get a saving sight of the Son of God and you'll know what I mean. And if you don't have a saving sight of Him here, you'll have raised blood pressure and quickened pulse when you see Him come as your judge.

67:52 There's no living creature that will not know raised blood pressure and quickened pulse in the presence of Christ. You'll know it here by grace or then in judgment.

68:05 But know it you will.

Conclusion: A Staggering Promise to Believe

68:08 Well, there's the promise, dear people. You see why I started where I did? It's like a refrigerator strapped on my back as I came to the Lord. I'll quote this this morning.

68:18 Who can preach on a text like this?

68:22 You are free and gathered in my name. There have I been enest.

68:34 He can make such a promise. If two of you shall agree on earth is touching what they ask, it shall be done. For where am I in present and devotion to me and love to my kingdom and submission to my word and trust only in my mediation of the Father, of the staff of the gathering. There by my spirit I will direct and superintend and regulate the prayers so that they will ask things agreeable to the will of my Father and He will hear in heaven and it shall be come to them on earth.

69:14 May God help us to believe such a promise. Let us pray.

69:28 Our Father, we confess that there are some of your words that do make us stagger.

69:38 You have so opened your heart and so spread before us privileges beyond anything we could imagine not to speak of what we deserve that we pray for grace to be like Abraham that we may not stagger at such promises through unbelief but may we wax strong through faith and may we as a people enter a whole new dimension of true spirit wrought corporate prayer that will bring down upon this sin-cursed earth upon our nation that runs headlong into hell such blessing that will turn the tide. Oh God, may we not play games and dull our affections to Christ with such promises lying unclaimed,

70:42 unapplied. Oh Father, forgive our unbelief. Forgive the coldness of our hearts to your Son. Help us this day to set in motion by the power of the Spirit whatever alterations of life and thought and practice and time are necessary that once again our hearts will beat with fervent love to Christ that His name, His person will be the supreme attraction in every facet of the life of Trinity Baptist Church.

71:17 Oh God, for those who've never seen any beauty in Him, have mercy upon them. Arrest them before that day when the glory and majesty of His coming as the angry Lamb will stun them into silence. Oh God, have mercy. Have mercy.

71:37 Seal your eyes. Your word we beg of you for our good and for your glory. Amen.